Written Works
Below you'll find a few pieces I have written over the years. A couple are from The Creightonian, the student-run newspaper at my undergraduate university. Others are from my roles at The Walt Disney Company.
Dr. Lee: The Heartbeat of Health Services at Disneyland Resort
As a medical professional, Dr. Lee helps to improve the lives of all the cast members that visit the Health Services clinic at Disneyland Resort. Dr. Lee completed 11 years of school to become a board-certified doctor in the field of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Prior to working at Disneyland Resort, Dr. Lee was a physician for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He was inspired by, what were at that time, the Four Keys, when he was initially applying for his role as Chief Physician.
“These keys really spoke to the core values that Disney encompasses. I knew that I wanted to make a difference at a company as special as Disney,” said Dr. Lee.
Since then, Disney has added an additional key to our company’s core values. Dr. Lee’s care for the cast members at Disneyland Resort, however, hasn’t changed. In his role he is responsible for the medical leadership, clinical oversight, and patient care delivered by all medical professions at the Disneyland Resort Health Services clinic.
“I evaluate the effectiveness of medical care and make or recommend changes to the governance team to improve the overall effectiveness of medical care delivered by clinic staff,” Dr. Lee said.
Dr. Lee collaborates with Safety, Risk Management, and Human Resources on processes and policies and provides advice on complex issues. These partnerships were especially important during the COVID pandemic because Dr. Lee was on the team that monitored and helped cast members both on property and at home with COVID.
“This time really means a lot to me as I was able to connect to our cast during a frightening time in their lives. Being able to support them in that dark time was both meaningful and impactful to me,” he said.
Dr. Lee loves getting the opportunity to work with team members from all over the resort with different backgrounds and passions. They all have the same goal in mind, to improve the health and wellness of cast members.
“Coming together with the sole purpose of improving the lives of our cast members is my favorite part of this team environment,” he said.
Dr. Lee is inspired by knowing that he makes an impact in the health and safety of our cast members through quality clinical care and identification of safety hazards. The best part of his work is seeing cast members leave the clinic better than when they came in.
Sewing Dreams into Reality: Paige’s Role as a Costume Buyer at Disneyland
From a young age, Paige was always interested in fashion. She would watch the end credits of films to see who the costume designer was. As she grew up, Paige wanted to work in television or film doing costumes. After a trip to Disneyland when she was in college, Paige knew she wanted to work at Disney. Paige is fulfilling her dream of working with costumes as a Senior Costume Buyer at Disneyland Resort. She works with Operational and Entertainment costuming to help create the costumes guests see in the parks and resorts.
In her role, Paige is responsible for requesting lab dips, strike offs, and samples of any of the materials the designer would like to use for new projects around the resort. After the designer chooses a fabric, Paige orders bulk yardage for each project.
When she isn’t helping create new costumes, Paige assists with current costume production. Sometimes there’s a fabric or notion they’ve used for decades that is suddenly unavailable. Paige’s job is to redevelop that piece so they can continue to create those costumes. This process requires sending samples to vendors, creating new custom pieces, or finding one in stock that is similar to the original.
“It’s important to keep our costumes consistent – or sometimes even updating them to look better as the years go on,” said Paige.
Paige’s role is unique because there are so few fabric buyers or costume buyers in the world. At Disneyland Resort, there are only 3 members of the team that buy the new project garments and fabrics for all occupational costumes.
Crafting the perfect costume doesn’t come without its challenges. There is a great deal of care and attention to detail that goes into each costume whether it’s for an operational role or an entertainment offering. Sometimes they have hidden details that people might not see.
One of Paige’s favorite projects was helping bring Rey to the parks. Each piece of the costume took a lot of time and care to ensure her costume looked just like the Rey we see on the big screen.
“I think a lot of the time, guests and even other Cast Members don’t realize that everything down to the color of thread is meticulously chosen to make the guests experience what it is,” Paige said.
Although it is hard work to match fabric swatches to the designer’s vision, Paige loves the challenge of finding the perfect fabric and trim.
“I love when the designer’s eyes light up and they say, ‘That’s exactly what I was thinking about!!’,” said Paige.
The most rewarding part of the process is when the costumes and garments come to life. The most important thing for Paige is that the cast members feel comfortable in their costumes.
Ben’s Journey from Human Resources to Facility Services
Ben began his Disney journey in Human Resources at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort during the exciting openings of new attractions such as Toy Story Land, Grizzly Gulch, and Mystic Point. Over his 12-year career, he credits his career transition advancement to Disney’s supportive environment across all lines of business.
Ben joined Hong Kong Disneyland in Human Resources, where he had held various roles including Compensation and Benefits and Business Partner servicing different accounts, including Facility Services. Ben’s career took an unexpected turn when he noticed a unique opportunity within his account. Despite it being unconventional, Ben pursued and successfully secured the role, and has since become a key member of the Facility Services team. Currently as a Facility Asset Management Manager, Ben encourages new cast members to explore the diverse and endless career opportunities at Disney, even if they seem unimaginable. He highlights the support from leaders and colleagues, as well as his own courage to believe in his potential and to try new things, has been essential to his success.
“Don’t be afraid to imagine whatever opportunities you can think of. I studied Economics and began working here in Human Resources. Now I work in Facility Services. This is a place full of opportunities,” said Ben.
Throughout his 12-year Disney Career, Ben has had the opportunity to work with a multitude of partners, which has helped him approach new projects with a broad perspective. He often collaborates with multiple lines of business at a time, and it challenges him to look at each project from varying angles to find the best solutions. The strong partnerships Ben has developed with fellow cast members through the years are the foundation of success in his role because the projects he works on affect day-to-day operations.
“You have a good level of trust after working here for so long. People know that you’re really handling things for them,” said Ben.
Ben’s supportive leadership and strong partnerships with other cast members has inspired his work and helped him to grow. The people at Hong Kong Disneyland are why he’s stayed at the company for so long.
“All of the people here have been willing to share their experiences and give me advice. Also, my team has supported me a lot which has helped me on new adventures,” Ben said.
If he had to give advice to someone looking to start their career journey, Ben would say not to be afraid to embrace the possibilities ahead. Take his own experience as an example, when he began in Human Resources he never imagined he would one day transition to become a Facility Asset Management Manager, and he anticipates what lies ahead as he continues to grow. There are countless opportunities available within Hong Kong Disneyland, and as long as you take the proactive steps forward to pursue them, you will discover a wealth of supportive cast members and leaders ready to help you reach your Disney dream position.
From Intern to Innovator: Jaime’s Journey to a Leadership Role in Safety
Jaime began her Disney career in 2011 on a Disney College Program. Throughout the next few years, she went back and forth from college to Walt Disney World on Engineering Internships. During her internships, she supported a variety of teams including Business Integration and Planning, Central Shops, and Quality Engineering.
Now Jaime is a Manager of Safety supporting Entertainment. Her team is responsible for developing and implementing the safe design and operation of Disney Live Entertainment offerings. Their support focuses on unique entertainment elements including fireworks, effects, lasers, specialty performance and rigging.
“We work very closely with the Safety Professionals supporting the Entertainment operation at each of our sites to share opportunities, best practices, similarities, and differences in order to drive a consistent safety culture and approach to Entertainment across the globe,” said Jaime.
Jaime has a degree in mechanical engineering and said that the problem-solving skills she learned from it have really set her up for success in her role. Entertainment teams are constantly pushing the boundaries to create new and innovative offerings, so problem solving is one of the most important skills to have to keep offerings safe.
“Entertainment creative and technical teams are constantly pushing the boundaries, and it is exciting to partner with them to come up with creative safety solutions to ensure our cast go home to their families just as they came to work each day,” Jaime said.
One of Jaime’s favorite parts about her team is the comradery. Building strong relationships with her team and other partners helps collaboration on new projects. They are able to work together to discover creative solutions while achieving the full creative vision for the new entertainment offering.
“We are constantly calling upon each other for subject matter expertise, or to just bounce ideas around to be able to provide the best guidance and direction to our partners,” said Jaime.
In her free time, Jaime is involved with any career and internship fairs she can attend. She hopes sharing her Disney story, built by internships and programs, can help encourage new generations of students to advocate for themselves and their passions to achieve their dreams.
Patrickson’s Journey from Attractions to Engineering
Patrickson began his Disney journey at Mission: SPACE as an Attractions Host. During his time at EPCOT, he developed a desire to work in an engineering role that helped improved guest experience.
His next role was an internship with the Modeling, Simulation and Training Tools team where he assisted on a variety of projects remotely. Patrickson assisted in creating the Acceptance Test Plan for Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure at Disneyland Paris and worked on a simulation for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
After his internship, Patrickson participated in two rotations of the Early Career Rotational Program. The first rotation was as an Associate Electrical Engineer at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the second rotation was as a tier III auditor with the Worldwide Safety Assurance team. In this role he worked to ensure the daily operational reliability of the attractions. He also worked on projects to improve their overall reliability. His work on his internship and program gave him valuable experience that helped advance his career.
“Being involved in numerous projects allowed me to gain a deep understanding of ride control systems. Working alongside experienced engineers provided a supportive environment where I could easily seek guidance and improve my problem-solving skills,” said Patrickson.
Patrickson also mentioned that his involvement in a mentorship program helped to enrich his employment experience because it provided tailored guidance, expanded his network and prepared him for long-term success within the company.
Patrickson currently works as an Associate Electrical Engineer on the Global Engineering and Technology team supporting Textile Sustaining Engineering.
This team is project-based and provides him the opportunity to work with projects from initiation through completion. This allows him to focus on innovative engineering solutions. His most significant project has been the development and implementation of the bag overtemperature detection system within the facility.
“My job is to focus on the execution of these projects successfully, as well as supporting Engineering Services and Production on the daily operations of the laundry facility,” Patrickson said.
Patrickson is inspired by the challenges that push him to grow, continuous learning and development, the camaraderie and collaboration with colleagues and his genuine passion for his work.
“I really value the camaraderie and teamwork within my team. Working closely with supportive colleagues who share common goals and values fosters a strong sense of belonging and makes overcoming challenges more fulfilling. Moreover, the chance to exchange expertise and viewpoints enables us to develop innovative solutions and contributes to personal growth,” he said.
Working at Disney revealed the dedication and meticulous attention to detail across all aspects of the company to Patrickson. This dedication to excellence can be seen not only through guest interactions, but also behind-the-scenes in operations that roles like Patrickson’s supports.
Creating Magical Narratives: Bill’s Journey to Storyliving by Disney
Creating captivating stories with the magic of Disney has always been a dream for Bill. As a child he spent hours in his room drawing Disney characters while dreaming of becoming an Animator. His passion for storytelling led him to his role as a Sales Director for Storyliving by Disney. In this role, Bill leads his team toward achieving target sales results while maintaining brand integrity.
Bill has worked at Disney for 12 years and has held a variety of leadership roles including some at Disney Vacation Club. His experience developing and implementing sales strategies while managing large teams has prepared him for this unique adventure. He attributes his success in his career to the leadership and mentorship he’s had throughout his career.
Joining the Storyliving team is exciting and unique because it allows cast members like Bill to be part of a brand-new Disney experience.
“It feels like being at the forefront of innovation and creativity, contributing to something that will bring joy and magic to countless people. The opportunity to shape and influence a new venture within Disney is a significant responsibility and a unique privilege.”
This project provides cast members with the unique experience of building a community with residents. It’s an experience that is more than just magical moments during a vacation, it allows the magic to be woven into their everyday lives.
“This project allows us to build a community that embodies Disney's values and offers a new way for people to connect with the brand daily.”
Bill is inspired by his ability to create magical and meaningful experiences for people. He is motivated by knowing his work creates unforgettable experiences for others. Working alongside his talented, passionate team helps to inspire him daily.
“My favorite aspect of our team environment is the collaborative spirit. Everyone is willing to share ideas, support one another, and work together to achieve our common goals. There's a strong sense of camaraderie and mutual respect, which makes working together both productive and enjoyable.”
Working for Disney can be challenging because the standards of excellence are so high, but Bill mentions that it’s most rewarding to see the positive impact his team’s work has on guests. The strong support and collaborative spirit amongst cast members makes it easier to succeed.
“Despite the company's size, there's a strong sense of community and a willingness to help each other succeed.”
In Bill’s opinion, any potential candidates should know that a career with Disney requires a solid commitment to excellence, among other things.
“It's essential to be adaptable, creative, and collaborative.”
Dellinger shows promise after a successful first season
Sam Dellinger has been a Creighton girl since she started softball. She began attending the Creighton Softball camps when she was seven or eight.
Dellinger’s hard work shows through her career statistics. She has a .303 batting average and a .857 fielding average for the season.
Dellinger’s drive to do well inspires her teammates to do the same, even when they are exhausted.
“She pushes her teammates. She’s always working hard and wanting the best for herself and that pushes her teammates to do their best as well,” Senior Allie Reinhart said.
Dellinger has been playing softball since she was 7-years-old. She tried other sports, but she was always most drawn to softball.
“She plays with a lot of heart,” Senior Jen Daro said.
She is humble and prefers to not talk about awards that she has been given, but one of her favorite memories was getting the call in high school that she was the Gatorade State Softball Player of the Year in the state of Nebraska.
“It was nice to see that the hard work that I put in, my parents and my teammates put in, worked out,” said Dellinger.
Dellinger is interested in studying medicine and felt comfortable at Creighton, which is why she chose to come here during her sophomore year of high school.
Dellinger likes a challenge and enjoys seeing her team come back and earn a win.
At the start of the season the Bluejays were down 6-0 to Weber State in the bottom of the seventh inning. The team pulled out all the stops and managed to make a nine run comeback to win the game.
“No one wanted to be the last out. It’s cool to be a part of that, not giving up and seeing what you’re capable of when it comes down to it,” said Dellinger.
Dellinger’s teammates describe her as a hard worker who has grown in many ways throughout the season. They highlight her mental toughness that Dellinger developed through learning that failure is part of the sport.
“She had a lot of success in high school and when she wasn’t having that success in the beginning of the year it took a lot of mental toughness to get herself going, get herself through it,” said Reinhart.
As a utility player, Dellinger plays a variety of positions depending on where the team needs her.
Off the field, Dellinger’s teammates describe her as a person who is easy to get along with and easy to talk to.
“She’s very understanding. She’ll always listen. She’s always willing to help you,” said Reinhart.
Daro, who has known her since Dellinger was seven or eight, says that her favorite memory with Dellinger has been watching her grow as an athlete throughout the years.
“Seeing her grow so much as a player from when she came in this fall to where she’s at now; to see the success that she’s had up until this point, and I know that this is not all she’s going to achieve, she’s going to achieve so much more,” said Daro.
This is just the beginning for Dellinger who is a freshman this year.
After adjusting to life and CU, Hanson ready for what comes next
At 6-foot-9, Zach Hanson towers over most students on Creighton’s campus. But his Creighton teammates say that behind his intimidating stature, Hanson is a laid-back guy with a great sense of humor.
“He may be intimidating because he’s big and has a big beard and stuff, but he’s probably the friendliest person I’ve met at this school,” said fellow senior Cole Huff.
Coach Greg McDermott also commented on Hanson’s fun-loving personality that not many people know about.
“He’s got a really sarcastic sense of humor,” McDermott said. “He’s a funny guy and you wouldn’t ever know it by the way he acts day to day.”
Hanson grew up in Pierre, South Dakota, a city with only 13,000 people. As an only child, he grew up with a lot of close friends and formed a close relationship with his parents.
Hanson admits that growing up as an only child made his family closer than others.
As a student-athlete, Hanson has been busy the past four years and was seldom able to visit home. His tightknit family had to make adjustments.
His parents made it down for his games and made sure that they were able to spend a few hours together after games. Hanson also calls home every few days to talk with his parents.
The one family member that he misses dearly is his cat, Whiskers, or “Mr. Whiskers if you’re meeting him for the first time.” The 16-year-old fur ball is too old to be making any trips to Omaha, so Hanson spends time with him during the few moments he gets at home.
With his parents support, Hanson has grown into the player he is today.
They have traveled with him to countless tournaments and games throughout his career.
Both of his parents were athletic and played sports, but his mom played college basketball. He always joked that he got his talent from her.
Living in South Dakota, there were few opportunities to play basketball in his hometown, so they traveled to a lot of his games.
His family never flew anywhere for games. Instead, they would pack up the car and go on road trips, regardless of how close or far away they were.
Hanson lived in the city, but his family owned a farm a few miles away, where they raised cattle until he was 10-years-old.
Hanson’s mother was a registered nurse and moved around in different areas, including operating rooms and working at the VA.
His dad is a bank manager who specializes in agricultural affairs.
After graduation, Hanson is moving in with some friends in Sioux Falls. He is exploring different job options that focus on the financial side of agribusiness.
Some people may think that moving from a city like Omaha back to South Dakota is a step backward, but he couldn’t think of a better place to live.
“To me that sounds pretty damn good,” Hanson said.
West of the Missouri River is the black hills, and east of it is rolling badlands and plains made by glaciers that moved through thousands of years ago. To some it seems like a boring place to be, but Hanson said he truly believes it is God’s country.
With almost zero light pollution, all of the stars are on display from the deck at his childhood home.
Moving home with his parents is not on his radar, but his memories of the farm and his dad’s career path have influenced his post-graduate plans.
He enjoys the relationships that are made working with people, which is something that he learned early on while playing basketball. Playing on a variety of teams helped Hanson learn to work well with others.
“Everyone is from different places, so you have to learn to work together,” said Hanson.
Hanson will graduate with a degree in finance and economics in May.
For his career, Hanson averaged 4.8 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game. He played in 109 total games and played a total of 1191 minutes.
Coffiel tells of her passion for Creighton softball
TaShiana Coffiel fell in love with softball when she was 11 years old.
She began softball when she was 10 years old when she noticed that her friends were not at the after-school program like they usually were.
In high school, Coffiel played softball and basketball as well as tried tennis and ran track for a season.
With the encouragement from her stepfather, Terrance Spencer, Coffiel stuck with softball and continued to improve into the player that she is today.
Coffiel, an Omaha native, knew that she wanted to stay here for college. She had been attending Creighton softball camps for a couple of years prior to being recruited by them.
“The day I got an offer from Creighton, I verbally committed,” said Coffiel.
Her freshman season did not go as she had planned. Coffiel trained every day, but felt disappointed with her performance throughout the season.
“There is mental toughness, which is something I lacked, and did not help me in the season I was having,” said Coffiel.
With the help of her stepfather, Coffiel built up her mental toughness, which she said is essential for failure in sports.
In the winter of 2016, Coffiel had to use that resilience in her personal life. Coffiel’s mother was hospitalized because of an infection in her heart. She managed to continue to make it class and practice while trying to be by her mother’s side every moment she had.
Her mother was born with a hole in her heart, which was fixed when she was younger. Today, Coffiel’s mother is doing much better and is getting back to life as it was before she was in the hospital.
Coffiel’s performance throughout this difficult time in her personal life did not suffer.
“An outsider who would have come and watched us practice would have never known when they watched us practice how sick her mom was,” coach Brent Vigness said.
Vigness also said that two of Coffiel’s greatest qualities are her commitment to bettering herself as an athlete and her commitment to excellence, which is evident through the first quality.
Coffiel’s hard work throughout the preseason shows through her tremendous season so far.
“She brings a competition to the team to try and work harder than she is and that's what I try and do. It's not easy,” teammate Mileah McKelvy said.
One of Coffiel’s favorite memories of softball was when her high school softball team at Benson made it to the state tournament as a wild card.
The team was full of players that were new to softball or new to competing on a fast pitch level. Up until that year, Benson had never made it to the state tournament in softball.
“The best thing about this moment is that we also made history at the state tournament by beating the No. 1 seed, resulting in knocking them out of the tournament,” said Coffiel.
McKelvy shares the same favorite moment as Coffiel. She was playing second and Coffiel was shortstop.
McKelvy was having an off game defensively and remembers Coffiel saving the day by catching a fly ball behind second base.
“After the catch, we just jumped into each others arms because we just made history by beating the No. 1 team,” said McKelvy.
Vigness and McKelvy said caring and driven describe Coffiel on the field and off. She leads by example with a quiet confidence, which is evident through her performance during practices and games.
Academic Success offers new opportunities for freshmen biology students
The EDGE’s Academic Success is offering new tutoring opportunities for freshmen biology students. There are attached biology tutors available for BIO 202 two nights a week. “With the attached tutoring, they’re [the tutors] going to the class so they’re following along with the content they’re currently learning,” said Academic Success coach, Sarah Shaner.
The sessions will be held on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6-9 pm. at the EDGE in Reinert Alumni Library. No appointments are needed to attend. The tutors will review material covered in their particular sections.
Academic Success helped more than 3,000 students last semester. The mission of Academic Success it to make sure that any student is successful at Creighton.
Itinerary Change for 6/5/23 Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (SE) Departure
Guests on the 6/5/23 departure of the Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (SE) Adventure are being notified of a change made to the internal flight that occurs on Day 8 of their trip.
Originally, Guests were scheduled to travel from Hanoi to Luang Prabang via a direct flight. Due to a change in the flight schedule, Guests will now fly from Hanoi to Vientiane, and take an EMU train from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.
During the brief layover in Vientiane, Guests will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.
In order for the EMU train tickets to be purchased in advance, Guests are being advised that they must send a color copy or photo of their passport as soon as possible.
Sunset of Private Adventures
The decision has been made to sunset Adventures by Disney Private Adventures. Beginning tomorrow, 6/2/23, requests for new Private Adventures will no longer be accepted.
Any Private Adventure departures through March 2024 which were previously approved will not be impacted, and will operate as planned.
All in-process requests and requests for a new Private Adventure departure received before the close of business today, 6/1/23, will be worked as normal.
Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service that allows U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. STEP shares important information about safety conditions in their destination and also supports them in the event of an emergency.
STEP enrollment is not required, but National Geographic Expeditions strongly recommends all Guests/Travelers register their international trip with the program on the https://step.state.gov/ website.